


Beware

by BlueDew



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Gen, I dunno I just wrote this on a whim, Mysterious, Mystery, Suspense, tra la la
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 12:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5206415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDew/pseuds/BlueDew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans decides to do something new by taking a trip down the river. But where he ended up was not at all what he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beware

       “Tra la la. I am the riverman. Or am I the riverwoman…? It doesn’t really matter.”

       Sans gave an observant look as the figure stood by the front of the wooden boat, their head occasionally turning this way and that as if to gesture a conversation. The boat wasn't tied to anything, yet  it managed to stay in place against the force of the water's current. The skeleton didn't question it. He'd seen too many weird things to be phased by something that was probably just the work of simple magic.

       “I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?” 

       The skeleton stuck his hand in his pockets, his feet kicking a bit of snow into the water as he stepped onto the wooden boat. “sure, why not?”

       “Where will we go today?” The riverperson sounded like they were smiling, even though Sans couldn’t see anything under the dark hood. 

       “ah, it doesn’t matter. i’m just looking for somewhere to relax… but, uh, if we have to have a destination, then i guess waterfall will work.” Sans shrugged, sitting back against the edge of the boat as it started to float down the river at a calming pace.

       “Then we’re off.”

       A few minutes passed without any conversation, the only sounds being the stirring of the water and the quiet humming of the riverperson. Sans smiled at the soothing environment and closed his eyes, letting his mind ease. It was therapeutic. It was like being detached from the world while still remaining in it. It was an odd feeling, but he enjoyed it. 

       “Tra la la. Why don’t you sing with me? Tra la la.” 

       Sans chuckled, his sockets remaining closed. “sorry, buddy. i’m not much of a singer.” 

       There was no immediate response. Just more humming. Sans brushed it off and a few more minutes passed.

       “Tra la la. Remember to take a break every-so-often.”

       Sans opened an eye briefly. “that’s exactly what i’m doing right now.”

       The riverperson paused and supposedly lifted their head, judging by how the hood moved.

       After several long seconds, Sans gave up on expecting a response and instead peeked over the edge of the boat and at his reflection in the water.

           “Tra la la. You can never have too many hot dogs…” Sans looked back up. “…Sadly, this is not true.”

       The skeleton’s usual smile faltered as he sat up, his attention now on the hooded figure in front of him. “…yeah. thirty is the limit.” 

           The riverperson’s song was interrupted by the faintest of laughs, and that actually uneased Sans a bit. He was so adjusted to the little tune that it was a bit unnerving being interrupted by silence. “Yes, I suppose your arms cannot reach that high.”

       Sans’ curiosity peaked while the riverperson started their humming again, and the tune sounded vaguely familiar. His eyes narrowed. Something wasn’t right here. Sans paid close attention to everyone around him, and although some characters came off as mysterious to him, it was never something he’d bother prodding into. But _this_ was different. This person… he couldn’t place it, but there was definitely something off about them. 

       “mind telling me your name?”

       “Tra la la. What is my name?” the riverperson pondered a moment, their back turned to Sans the entire time. “… it doesn’t really matter…” 

       “well, i thought it would just be courteous to exchange names, but sure. to each their own.” Sans held onto his laid-back attitude despite his suspicions. He kept an eye on the figure in front of him the entire time, realizing that the trip from Snowdin to Waterfall was taking a lot longer than he initially thought it would. 

       “Tra la la," Sans heard the singing again. "Beware of the man who came from the other world.” 

       “pardon me?”

       “Beware of the man who came from the other world.” The riverperson repeated the line whilst somehow still humming.

       The skeleton’s smile shrank. “i hear you, but i don’t understand.”

           " _Beware of the man who speaks in hands_.”

       Sans froze, the pinpricks of light in his sockets dimming. He was completely caught off-guard with that statement, and it just unsettled him all the more when the humming stopped yet again. He couldn’t even hear the flowing water anymore. It was only silence.

       “…this man,” Sans was the one to break the quietude this time, his mouth drawn into a thin line. “you… wouldn’t happen to know his name, would you?”

       The riverperson turned their head, looking at Sans from over their shoulder.

       “Tra la la... what's my name?”

       The skeleton jumped up to his feet, left eye glowing cyan.

           “…it doesn’t really matter.” 

       Sans grabbed the cloak and tore it off of the figure in one fluid motion, but he gasped as he saw there was nothing standing where the riverperson once was. In fact, there wasn’t even a boat anymore. Sans was already standing on the edge of the riverbank in Waterfall, nothing but a piece of navy fabric in hand. 

       The voice that echoed softly through the caverns made Sans shudder. 

           “ **g** -“

           “ _Come again some time. Tra la la._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have a tiny little theory that what if the riverman/woman is somehow Gaster? Or at the very least, connected to him in some way? Just the little bits of dialogue they give you along your journey is too mysterious to dismiss, so I thought... what if someone familiar of it all decides to give it a go?


End file.
